OTM (On Track Modeling) aka
AMG (Alpha Model Group)
To Whom It May Concern:
After reading the many letters
regarding OTM, I am very skeptical of
their operation.
Two weeks ago, my eight-year-old daughter did the "photo
shoot" with an OTM photographer. We are now waiting
the "4 weeks" for the proofs to come back.
From the letters I have been reading, it sounds best
that we stop at this stage, and move to another agency.
I am writing to ask whether you would advise to order
the smallest amount of "Comp Cards" through
OTM to see if there are actually any results from them.
Or to just take our $599 slides, get them developed
ourselves, and solicit on our own.
It sure would have saved us a lot of money if I had
ran across your website beforehand. There is so much
information in the letters I have read that contain similarities
with what we have heard thus far.
Can you help?
You paid $599 for photography alone for your eight-year-old
daughter? That sounds very expensive, twice what an adult
model said she paid in New York.
Did you pay 100% up front for the photography before
seeing the quality? Earlier complaints said the photo
quality was unacceptable and not at a high enough standard
for the price. Based on the complaints about photography
quality and comp card quality, would it make sense to
risk giving them more money?
If you have the slides, your idea sounds reasonable
to get them developed elsewhere. You could ask an expert
to review the quality before printing comp cards. You
may want to shop around for prices and visit the websites
of photographers to see their work before you pay. What
is the website address of the OTM photographer?
Since most of the work OTM gets is probably promotions,
like events and what have you, since that is what their
promotional material talks about, it does not make sense
to pay more than $300 for photos. You may never earn
more than the cost of the photography and comp cards.
The average pay for promotions is $15/hour.
Incidentally, did OTM provide you with the list of clients
who have asked them for eight-year-old models? Is there
much work for child models in your city? In most cities
there isn't. And, in any case, professional photos for
child models may not be needed until they are about 12
years old.
You may want to call child modeling agencies you know
are reputable, even if they are in another state, just
to ask how they do things, how much you should expect
pay, etc. The good ones know what child modeling scams
look like, and they can tell you what to look out for.
You don't have to mention any agency by name, and they
are unlikely to speak out against a particular agency.
But if they are not going to rep you, they have no vested
interest or reason to mislead you, and should be prepared
to give you straight answers.
|
